NASA Already Lost the Satellite It Just Found in January

In 2000, NASA launched a satellite to study the Earth’s magnetic field from space. TheImager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite spent the next five years uncovering the details of Earth’s magnetic field and the auroras it causes, but in 2005 NASA unexpectedly lost contact.

At the time, NASA tried reestablishing contact with IMAGE, but after numerous attempts, the agency declared the satellite lost. It remained lost until early this year, when an amateur astronomer picked up the satellite’s signal while hunting for a recently-launched military satellite. Since then, NASA has been trying to secure its connection to IMAGE, but a recent announcement suggests that the satellite has been lost once again.

According to the update from NASA, the IMAGE team spent months attempting to establish contact with the spacecraft, and at first they were partially successful. They were able to send signals to the satellite and receive some information back, but even in the beginning there were problems. The signal from IMAGE was very weak, and the satellite didn’t accept most of the commands sent to it.
____________________Source: popularmechanics